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Opinion: Maryland's reinsurance bill is good for small business

04/18/2018

Baltimore Business Journal

Topics:

Healthcare

The most surprising development in Maryland this month wasn’t a snowstorm but the fact that the General Assembly and Gov. Larry Hogan put politics aside to pass a law that will rescue the state’s entrepreneurs and small business employees from skyrocketing health care costs.

Maryland lawmakers just approved a bill that will curb the cost of health insurance premiums for 150,000 residents through a $380 million reinsurance program. That's money that can be used by insurers to pay for some of the costliest claims made by customers who purchased insurance through Maryland’s...

Colorado family leave plan would benefit small biz

04/16/2018

Colorado Springs Business Journal

Topics:

Family Medical Leave Insurance

Colorado lawmakers frequently say they want to help local businesses succeed, and this year they have an opportunity to do just that by enacting a statewide family and medical leave insurance program funded by small employee contributions.

Mulvaney’s proposed CFPB reforms are bad for small business, too

04/11/2018

American Banker

Topics:

Tax and Budget Reform

Mick Mulvaney is something of a novelty among Washington bureaucrats: He seems to want less power.

Mulvaney, as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, just proposed watering down his own agency in order to make it less capable of fulfilling its mission to protect consumers. In doing so, he showed he has no regard for the millions of American small businesses that need fraud protection and want to see Wall Street held accountable for practices that harm our economy.

The Small Business Majority (SBM), a national small business advocacy organization, has introduced expanded resources to Venturize.org, an educational online lending platform that the organization took over in February. The platform aims to help small business owners access the most appropriate lending options. According to SBM, Venturize is designed to take into account the needs of diverse business owners, especially women, entrepreneurs of color, and younger entrepreneurs.

Thousands of small businesses, ranging from construction companies to tech startups are planning to deliver an open letter to Congress on Wednesday, May 2nd calling on lawmakers to support the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality.

The nationwide deliveries are supported by a range of groups representing startups and small businesses including the American Sustainable Business Council, Engine Advocacy, Main Street Alliance, Good Business Colorado, and Small Business Majority, along with digital rights nonprofit Fight for the Future....

Paid family and medical leave legislation: Evidence from employers

04/09/2018

American Enterprise Institute

Topics:

Family Medical Leave Insurance

Our research across states with active or soon-to-be-implemented programs reveals that these worries are unfounded. The potential adverse financial impact of paid family and medical leave on small businesses does not accurately reflect the views from the majority of businesses in the states we surveyed. Researchers Eileen Appelbaum and Ruth Milkman found similar results through their earlier work in California. So, too, did the Small Business Majority, which found that 70% of small business owners and operators support legislation establishing a national paid family and medical leave...

Small businesses need Congress' help to crack down on fraud

04/04/2018

The Hill

Topics:

Government Accountability

In fact, a new scientific opinion poll conducted on behalf of Small Business Majority found 84 percent of small-business owners say the use of shell companies to secure contracts or obtain government set-asides reserved for small businesses is a problem, and 77 percent of small business owners agree Congress should pass legislation that would mandate businesses to disclose the true identity of their owners.

Irvine Foundation Awards $14.2 Million in March Grants

03/31/2018

Philanthropy News Digest

Topics:

Workforce Issues

The foundation’s March grants include $2.5 million over thirty months to Socius Group to continue its support for the New California Arts Fund, a grantee-led learning community; $3 million over three years to LeadersUp to build its capacity as a talent development intermediary and help shift business practices with respect to the hiring and retention of Opportunity Youth in Los Angeles and the Bay Area; $500,000 over twelve months to the Small Business Majority Foundation to implement a statewide strategy focused on amplifying the efforts of small business to create quality jobs; $750,000...

During Women’s History Month, Let’s Celebrate the Pioneering Women Among Us

03/30/2018

Mogul

Topics:

Entrepreneurship, Women's Economic Empowerment

I wouldn’t be in business today if I didn’t have access to birth control, and I’m not alone. A new scientific opinion poll conducted on behalf of Small Business Majority found 65 percent of African-American and 64 percent of Latina small business owners say access to birth control, and the freedom to decide if and when to have children, has impacted their bottom lines as a business owner. This would not have been possible without the trailblazers who were willing to stand up for women’s rights.

Letter: Bring FAMILI Act home to Colorado

03/27/2018

Aurora Sentinel

Topics:

Family Medical Leave Insurance

As the 2018 FAMLI Act moves through the state legislature, I strongly urge Colorado’s legislators to support this legislation.

As the owner of Sweet Action Ice Cream, I know it’s important to treat employees well, but it’s difficult for shops like mine to offer paid leave. The FAMLI Act proposes creating a paid leave program funded by small employee payroll deductions. This gives employees access to a critical benefit with no financial burden on the employer.

Legislators should support paid leave program

03/22/2018

The Greeley Tribune

Topics:

Family Medical Leave Insurance, Paid Sick Leave

The Colorado House of Representatives will soon vote on the 2018 FAMLI Act (House Bill 1), and as a small business owner, I strongly urge lawmakers to support this legislation. Passing this bill is just good common sense, especially for small business owners and their employees. Here's why.

Health Plan Coverage Dominates Hill Debate on Labor Dept. Rule

03/21/2018

Bloomberg BNA

Topics:

Healthcare

A Labor Department proposed rule that would make it easier for small businesses to band together to provide health insurance--thus getting the volume breaks large employers enjoy--had its first checkup ever on Capitol Hill. Several stakeholders offered their prognoses at a House subcommittee hearing.

John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of the advocacy group Small Business Majority, echoed Blunt, saying that without a minimum benefit requirement, plan sponsors could intentionally exclude people by not offering certain benefits. “The plans could exclude services for maternity coverage or...

Association Health Plans Advance Over Hospital Concerns

03/21/2018

Healthcare Financial Management Association

Topics:

Healthcare

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the American Academy of Actuaries have warned that expanding AHPs could attract healthier people and leave sicker people to access individual and small-group market plans. If that were to occur, the price of individual and small-group products would increase given the concentrated risk pool, ultimately harming the viability of those markets. A February Avalere analysis concluded that up to 4.3 million people who are enrolled in the individual and small-group markets would shift to AHP coverage under the rule by 2022.

The State of Entrepreneurship

03/21/2018

Talent Economy

Topics:

Women's Economic Empowerment

Although women and minorities are underrepresented in the entrepreneurship community in general, they are gaining more ground. Women small-business owners are one of the fastest growing segments of the nation’s economy, according to a poll conducted by the advocacy group Small Business Majority.

House Education & Workforce Subcommittee Issues Testimony From Small Business Majority

03/21/2018

InsuranceNewsNet.com

Topics:

Healthcare

The House Education and the Workforce subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions issued the following testimony by John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, at a hearing entitled "Expanding Affordable Health Care Options: Examining the Department of Labor'sProposed Rule on Association Health Plans."

Today, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing entitled, “Expanding Affordable Health Care Options: Examining the Department of Labor’s Proposed Rule on Association Health Plans.” On January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule on association health plans, which puts comprehensive and affordable health care coverage for small businesses and their employees at risk.

“AHPs are not a new idea. In fact, states have already experimented with these plans with disastrous results. Claims that AHPs will be a boon to small...

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce today held a subcommittee hearing on a Department of Labor proposed rule that would allow small employers and sole proprietors to form association health plans based on geography or industry. Witness John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, said the rule would lead the risk pool in the remaining individual market to become “unbalanced,” causing “rates to soar for everybody else,” and offer fewer consumer protections.